Red Light Therapy For Chronic Pain

Jan 31, 2023 | Laurie Velger

Medically reviewed by Karen Wolters, RN and Joanna Fearnley, LPN

Red light therapy for chronic pain has proven to be versatile for treating pain all over the body, joint, neck, foot and more. Do you or a loved one suffer from the debilitating effects of chronic pain? It may surprise you that, “One out of three Americans is affected by chronic pain annually.” A 2016 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that, “…chronic pain affects approximately 50 million U.S. adults, and high impact chronic pain (i.e., interfering with work or life most days or every day) affects approximately 20 million U.S. adults.”

Unfortunately, chronic pain is not only a problem in America but worldwide. A 2006 study of 15 European countries plus Israel found that, “Chronic pain of moderate to severe intensity occurs in 19% of adult Europeans, seriously affecting the quality of their social and working lives….chronic pain is a major health care problem in Europe that needs to be taken more seriously.” Judging from these findings, it seems very likely that everyone at some point in life will experience chronic pain themselves, or have a family member or friend who will be affected.

Red Light Therapy For Chronic Pain example usage

What is Chronic Pain?

Pain is classified as either acute, subacute, or chronic. “Chronic” pain is pain which persists after healing is expected to have occurred (more than three months), or pain which is present where there is no tissue damage. Chronic pain may last for years, and, “By definition chronic pain cannot be treated and cured in the conventional biomedical sense; rather, the patient who is suffering from the pain must be given the tools with which their long-term pain can be managed to an acceptable level.” So if modern medicine has no actual cure for chronic pain, how do you manage it? Red light therapy for chronic pain is an emerging technology that really works.

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Red Light Therapy for Treating Chronic Pain

Presently, pharmaceutical drugs, especially opioids, are the most common form of treatment for chronic pain. A recent 2022 study published in Clinical Medicine entitled, Managing chronic pain in older people states: “Opioids should be considered for use in patients with moderate to severe pain, or functional impairment and compromised quality of life as a result of pain. Potential side effects of opioids in older people include constipation, excessive sedation, delirium, falls and fractures.” This list of opioid side effects should also include mood swings, depression, anxiety, poor coordination, and drug dependence which could possibly lead to a fatal overdose.
But physicians prescribe many other pharmaceutical drugs including antidepressants for managing chronic pain, with each drug having their own set of side effects: “Current methods of pain management involve pharmacotherapy using agents such as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids, and opioids; however, the use of these drugs does not come without concerning side effects such as sedation, cardiotoxicity, ataxia, addiction, and respiratory depression.” This is where red light therapy for chronic pain comes in.

 

Red Light Therapy for Chronic Pain Management

Due to the aforementioned worrisome side effects, prescription or OTC drugs do not have to be your only option for pain management. “In recent years, evidence for the use of light therapy as a nonpharmacologic approach for pain reduction has gained momentum, and both pre-clinical and clinical studies have demonstrated its efficacy and continue to explore its efficacy in a variety of pain syndromes.”
In fact, the use of light, particularly Red Light Therapy for chronic pain, as a non-addictive and risk-free therapeutic alternative to pharmaceuticals for managing pain and improving function has shown impressive results, offering “…a non-invasive, safe, drug-free, and side-effect-free method for pain relief of both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions as well as fibromyalgia.”

 

Red Light Therapy for Chronic Pain Conditions

More and more, Red Light Therapy is being utilized as a successful and effective strategy for chronic pain management. Red Light Therapy is also known as “photobiomodulation therapy” or “PBMT.” Red Light Therapy (PBMT) has been found “…to have profound biological effects on tissue including increased cell proliferation, accelerating the healing process, promoting tissue regeneration, preventing cell death, anti-inflammatory activity and relief of pain.” As a result of these findings, many researchers have concluded that, “The combination of good evidence and virtually no side effects make PBMT ideally suited to become an alternative for all future pain treatments.”

Regarding specific conditions, “There is evidence that PBMT has positive effects on decreased pain intensity in musculoskeletal conditions such as non-specific knee pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders, neck, shoulder and back pain, and also in management of pain after total hip replacements.”

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Use Red Light Therapy Daily

When using Red Light Therapy for chronic pain, healthcare practitioners agree that daily therapy sessions are the most beneficial treatment strategy. “For chronic pain, the treatment must be done every 24 hours, as the microtubules regenerate and pain will return.” With daily therapy sessions, Red Light Therapy should provide “…symptomatic relief and management of chronic and intractable pain…”

 

Red Light Therapy Supports Nerve Regeneration

Besides the benefits of being safe, risk-free, and non-invasive with no possibility of addiction or overdose, another tremendous benefit of utilizing Red Light Therapy for chronic pain management instead of pharmaceuticals is that Red Light Therapy can actually regenerate nerve cells and tissues. “Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) effects an important role in neural regeneration and function enhancement, such as expression of nerve growth factor and nerve regeneration…” So Red Light Therapy not only decreases pain, but may also over time restore function, resulting in an increase in quality of life for those with chronic pain. This is something that pharmaceuticals simply cannot accomplish, so try red light therapy for chronic pain!

Choose HealthLight

Thousands of studies at www.pubmed.gov prove that Red Light Therapy for chronic pain is a painless, non-invasive, highly effective, and risk-free treatment modality that relieves pain and triggers and supports the body’s own innate healing ability. So if you or a loved one want to manage chronic pain without drugs, make sure that you choose a Red Light Therapy pad from HealthLight. All HealthLight systems are durable, high quality medical-grade devices for both clinics and consumers that deliver the optimum amount of joules into the body for fast-acting and dependable pain relief — plus the acceleration of your body’s own innate healing processes! HealthLight manufactures the most powerful clinical-strength Red Light Therapy devices available in today’s marketplace to provide you the therapeutic benefits of Red Light Therapy in the convenience of your home. HealthLight offers a wide variety of Red Light Therapy devices to meet the needs and budget of any individual, family, or health practitioner!

Start Your Pain Relief Journey Today

Contact us now and speak with a light therapy expert. They are here to help you find relief at home with soothing red light therapy.

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